Black Knight 02 - Back in Black (9 page)

He bowed his head again and answered, "Your Majesty, may I introduce Detective Sabrina Law, a Peacekeeper of her realm, and her lieutenants, James and Gregory, of The Sanguine."
 

"It is our pleasure to meet you, Lady Law, and your servants." I stopped thinking how adorable she was when she got to the bit about servants. I didn't say anything, because Otto shot me another warning look, but I was getting a little tired of keeping my mouth shut in the name of interspecies relations.
 

"Thank you for receiving us, Your Majesty." Sabrina said with a curtsy. Now I knew we were in a different dimension, because no way in hell was Sabrina ever going to curtsy to anyone.
 

"You are welcome here, Lady. Please treat the Great Hall of Armelion as your home for as long as you require our hospitality." I saw Otto relax when she said that, and I hoped that meant she'd just pledged that no one in her court would try to stake me as long as we were here.
 

"Many thanks, Your Majesty." Sabrina curtsied again, and I heard Gloria Steinem's ghost screaming in feminist agony somewhere in the ether.
 

"Octavian, do you pledge the good behavior of our guests and that they mean no harm to our royal person?" The queen asked Otto.
 

He stood up straighter, if that's possible for someone who was already making a marine at parade rest look like a slinky, and said "I do, Your Majesty. Upon my honor as Knight-Mage of House Armelion, they shall bring no harm to your person or House."
 

"Fair enough, Otto, fair enough." With that, Queen Milandra waved a hand and the honor guard all disappeared, along with most of the great hall, leaving behind only two guards and a much smaller sitting room. The guards took up positions beside the door, while Greg and I gaped at the new room we suddenly found ourselves in. I heard a tinkling of laughter, and spun around to see Milandra seated, not on a throne, but on what looked like a very comfy armchair, laughing at us and our consternation.
 

"Oh I do love visitors!" She exclaimed with glee. "Especially visitors from the mundane world. Your faces are absolutely priceless!" She kicked her little feet in amusement, and waved us over to a pair of sofas that had appeared when the room changed. "I prefer to hold audience for friends in my chambers. The great hall is just so drafty this time of year, and no matter how I make the weather outside, it always seems to be chilly in there. I suppose it's all the marble, but I can't remake the great hall, you know."
 

I sat on the sofa furthest from the queen and closest to the door, not just to keep my escape clear, but also to be ready to deal with anything that came in with bad intentions. Not that I had any illusions of being able to handle anything that could get all the way into the heart of the Fairy Queen's castle, but it made me feel better. "Your Majesty," I began, "We need your help..."

She cut me off with a wave of her hand and turned to Sabrina. "Who let him speak? And why did you let him keep his tongue in the first place? Have you not heard of their powers of persuasion? Or do you just find it exciting to tempt fate?" Her eyes sparkled with the last question, as though tempting fate was one of her favorite pastimes.
 

"He speaks whenever he pleases, sometimes much to my chagrin. And regardless, his tongue would just grow back if I removed it." Sabrina said, nodding politely to the serving girl who had just brought out a tray of drinks and fruit. She took a small glass with a pale orange liquid in it, but didn't drink immediately. The queen took a small plate of fruit and a pale lavender drink for herself, then waved over another serving girl, who knelt at Greg's feet, looking up at him with a small smile.
 

"Do you thirst, vampire? You may drink of Tirina if you wish. But please, leave enough for your friend to share, and do not drain her or I will be very cross." Greg looked at Milandra like she was absolutely insane, and started to shake his head.
 

"Drink, you idiot," I whispered to him. "You don't know when you'll have the chance to feed again, and I doubt there's a blood bank anywhere near here."
 

"But dude," Greg whispered back plaintively. "I don't do that anymore. I haven't drank from a person in almost ten years! I can't do it now, in front of people." He got really quiet on the last part, like he was talking about losing his virginity.
 

"You have to, bro. You've gotta keep your strength up, and I know you didn't eat anything before we left the house. Plus, I don't want to piss her off by not accepting." I really didn't want to start some kind of inter-dimensional diplomatic incident by not drinking the girl. Besides, I wanted a snack and had never had fairy for lunch before.
 

"Your friend is right, vampire. You must drink. I can sense your hunger." Milandra said from her chair, which somehow looked like a throne while still being a comfy armchair. Greg stared at the girl's proffered neck for another moment, then took a deep breath and leaned in. I could smell the blood when he broke the skin, and the smell just about drove me nuts. Imagine your mom's fried chicken, with homemade biscuits, gravy and fresh cherry pie for dessert. Well, this fairy's blood smelled like all of that and more, and I could hardly wait for Greg to top off the tank and pass the entree over.
 

After a long moment, he finished drinking and just sat there, leaning over the girl with his forehead on her shoulder. I thought I saw a pale pink tear run down his face into the girl's hair, but Greg quickly stood up and waved her over to me. I knew it took a lot for him to fall off the wagon like that, and I really hoped I wasn't in for a long talk about feelings and other crap when we got home. Not being possessed of Greg's moral fortitude, I took a knee instantly and sank my fangs deep into the girl's carotid. The hot blood flooded my mouth, and I saw stars for a second before I got myself under control. Apparently fairy blood is a lot more nourishing than human blood, because I'd drank barely a pint before I felt completely revitalized and stronger than I had since my binge in Bobby's morgue the other night.
 

I stood up, giving the girl a kiss on the forehead that left bloody lip prints just below her hairline, and looked around with new eyes at the great hall. Everything had an extra little sparkle, like the first time a nearsighted kid gets new glasses. I could smell the faintest hint of lavender in the air, and I thought I could taste a hint of it, too. I locked eyes with the Fairy Queen, and she smiled a knowing smile at me. "Did you enjoy your meal, vampire?" She asked with a tilt of her head.
 

"She was delicious, Your Majesty." I sketched a brief bow, and the girl returned to her serving duties.
 

"Excellent. Now the rest of us may dine while we discuss what business has brought this invasion to my lands." She clapped her hands, and an army of serving girls, all looking eerily identical to the fairy Greg and I had just fed from, came in carrying sections of wood that assembled almost without thought into a huge banquet table. Once the table was in place, Milandra clapped her hands once more, and a feast appeared in the blink of an eye. Fruits in all colors of the rainbow, vegetables that looked like nothing I'd ever seen before, and a roasted flamingo appeared from nowhere. Literally from nowhere. Milandra clapped her hands, and food just
appeared
.
 

I sipped a nice red wine while the mortal types ate, and after the first course dishes had been cleared away, I coughed slightly and said "Your Majesty? I hate to bring this up, but what exactly did you mean by 'invasion?' We certainly have no plans for invading your...uh...realm." I finished lamely, deciding at the last minute that referring to the place as FairyLand might not be such a good idea when talking to the Fairy Queen.
 

"Well, of course you have, vampire." Milandra replied brightly. "You..." she indicated Sabrina with a fork "have come into my realm uninvited, armed with weapons, as ludicrous as they may be..." I looked at my daggers self-consciously, and then decided she must have meant Greg's nightstick. Milandra gave me that quirky smile again, just a quick upturn of one side of her mouth, and went on "and you arrived in the company of two of the Sanguine, who you must know are bred as assassins, and one of my knights, whom you have obviously made a prisoner."
 

I couldn't process most of what Milandra was saying because I was still hung up on the word "assassins." Apparently here in FairyLand vampires were not uncommon, and we were used as assassins. I raised my hand tentatively, and Milandra nodded towards me. "Um...Your Majesty, I think we have a little bit of a misunderstanding."
 

"Obviously, vampire. For I cannot fathom what affront I have made to the human realm to warrant this ill treatment."
 

"Um..." I hate it when I get tongue-tied, but I was really in uncharted waters here. "Your Majesty, we're not assassins. I mean, we are vampires, that's pretty obvious, but we didn't come here to kill anyone." Which might not have technically been true, but since I didn't know who we were going to try to kill, I figured that bit might best be left unsaid.
 

"Then why have you come here, mortal?" Milandra turned to Sabrina, who apparently had been elected general of our invading army when I wasn't looking.
 

"We are investigating a series of troll attacks in our world. Otto - um - Octavian led us to believe that you may be able to help us find out where the monsters are coming from, and why they are attacking changelings." Sabrina said, with a glance to Otto, who nodded slightly.
 

Sabrina went on "My...a member of my family has been attacked, and we must find out why these trolls are hunting down these young men before anyone else is hurt."
 

Milandra looked thoughtful for a moment and then said, "Well, human, while it is little concern of mine what happens in your land, I understand the importance of family." I managed not to choke when she said that, and she flashed a quick grin at me that I was pretty sure only I caught. Obviously the capricious little queen wasn't nearly the dim bulb she played. I hate dealing with women that are smarter than me. Which is most of them, if I'm being honest.
 

The queen continued, "we have no dealings with the trolls in House Armelion, but I may be able to summon their master here for a...conversation, if that is what you desire."

Something about her tone made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, and looking over at Otto I could tell that there was something going on here that was most definitely not being said. Did I mention I hate smart women? Sabrina didn't catch whatever warning tone I was hearing, and just replied with "Yes, Your Majesty, we would like that very much."
 

"Well, human," Milandra paused as though and idea had just occurred to her. "If it is a boon you seek from the Queen of House Armelion, then it is a boon you shall have." She was smiling way too much for me to feel comfortable, and then she dropped the other shoe. "Once you have completed your quest, of course."
 

I knew it. Outsmarted by another hot chick. The last time this happened, I ended up immortal and with weird dietary restrictions. I just hoped we all survived this one.
 

Chapter 15

I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders, looking right at the Fairy Queen. "Alright, Your Majesty, what do need us to do?" I heard Sabrina gasp a little at my directness, but I figured we were down to the real deal now, so any pretense of formality could go out the window.
 

Milandra chuckled a little and said, "You are wiser than you appear, vampire, not that it takes much. There is a beast that has been plaguing the western border of my lands for some years now. I would like for you to go there, and bring me its heart as proof of your success. Of course, simply returning alive will be proof enough, as none of the other heroes I have sent on this quest have ever made it back." There was that little half-smile again. I was really starting to want to smack this chick, Sabrina's relative or not.
 

"Alright, Your Majesty. Would you like to enlighten me as to what kind of creature we'll be fighting, or would you rather we be surprised?" I said.
 

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of having you attempt this quest without proper preparations, vampire. After all, dragon-hunting is not for the faint of heart." I didn't bother mentioning that my heart didn't really beat anymore, faint or not. I was a little hung up on the casual use of the word "dragon."
 

"Excuse me, Your Majesty?" Greg asked politely. "Did you say 'dragon?'"

"I did indeed, vampire."
 

"Does 'dragon' maybe have a different meaning here than it does in our world?" He asked, hopefully.
 

"In your world does 'dragon' mean a gigantic winged lizard, roughly the size of a barn, with a twenty-foot long poisonous barbed tail, a head the size of a small bedroom with hundreds of razor-sharp teeth, claws the length of broadswords and just as sharp, with breath of fire?"
 

"Yes, that's pretty close." Greg said in a very small voice. "Except in our world, these are purely mythical creatures. They don't really exist." I saw a little glimmer of hope in his face until Milandra spoke again.